It's Blog Hop Time!

Thanks for stopping by during your journey. I'm sure you enjoyed Maylee's creation. Super cute right? And if you joined in just now let's get you started and take you to Jodi's Blog first so you can get a look at all the DT projects so far. :)

For my project I decided to really think outside the box. I created a Loveopoly game. I actually made a board and cards and pieces lol. I must confess, my sister helped me with the cards and let's just say this game turned out to be for those over the age of 18. *BLUSH*

Here is the game:



And here are the pieces:



How the game works- It's simple, you roll the dice and move the number of spaces it tells you. You pick a card from the stack and you do what it says. I must warn you my husband LOVED this game but he cheated. He only wanted to do the fun stuff. Not any of the stuff like housework ROFLOL. So make sure your spouse don't cheat.

It's so fun...but I doubt you will be able to get passed 3 dice rolls LOL. Since this is a pg blog, I won't go into the details, but the categories turned out fun.

If you want me to tell you how I made it and the Love Note Topics email me and I will fill you in. However you must not be the blushing type cause some of those notes are spicy lol.

Next on your hop is Cabio one of our guest designers. :) Don't forget to vote for your favorite at the end on the main Blog.

Thanks for hopping by!

Design Team Call

InStyle Stamps is currently searching for 7 new designers for a new term to begin March 1st – August 31st, 2010.

We are interested in fresh, funky, out of the box designs. We are looking for out of the box cards and projects. Our designers should have great coloring technique and photography skills. You should be able to post regularly on your blog or website and talk up our product. You do not have to have been on previous design teams.

If you fit that mold, please apply for one of our special team positions.

How to apply:

Send InStyle Stamps an email at instylestampsdt@yahoo.com with New Designer in the subject field no later than February 15th. Please include 1 card and 1 non-card project that showcase your best coloring abilities. We will contact you within 48 hours with the next details on how to proceed with the application process.

Along with your email please include the following information:

1. Name

2. Mailing Address

3. Phone number

4. Email Address

5. A List of your present/past design team positions. Note: You will be considered even if you do not have design team experience.

6. A link to your blog and gallery on SCS, PCP, or any place else you like to hang out.

7. A brief “about me” summary to include; interests, crafting history, etc. Whatever you would like us to know about you and your experience.

Because you will need to share your InStyle Stamps creations, you are required to have a well-maintained blog for posting your artwork and any information concerning InStyle Stamps. Ability to photograph and post your creations is a must.

InStyle Stamps designers are required to create 6 projects per month. These projects are as follows:

*CAS due on the 2nd of the month

*Color Challenge due on the 2nd Saturday of each month

*Method Monday –a tutorial created by you. You will be required to create 2 of these projects during your term.

*Over the Hump Blog Candy Give-a-way- this happens either the 2nd or 3rd Wednesday of the month

*Blog Hop Friday- occurs the last Friday of the month

*Wednesday Challenge- Every Wednesday excluding the OHBCGA week.

There will be times when you will only have 5 projects for the month. At that time you will create an additional Wednesday Challenge.

As a part of the InStyle Stamps team, you will be able to choose which images you would like to work with. You will receive a selection sheet of images 10 days prior to the start of the next month.

Please note that all images are provided digitally, so the ability to print the images is a must. Please do not apply if you are not comfortable working with digital stamps.

We have a yahoo group dedicated to the Design Team. You would be expected to join this group & participate in discussions with others as well as giving suggestions or ideas when asked. Please keep in mind you will receive emails.

As a DT member, we would like to see you posting your creations in online stamping community galleries, such as Splitcoast Stampers and Paper Craft Planet. This will help to increase exposure to our stamps and images.

The Perks:

You will get a badge to display on your blog to show that you are a part of the InStyle Stamps Anime DT!!

Every month you will get 6 digital stamps to design with. They are yours to keep. Remember we require at least 6 projects per month. The projects you create as part of your design team requirements are also yours to keep. You will also receive 2 freebie images of your choice.

You will receive a welcome kit full of goodies.

You get a 35% discount on website purchases for as long as you are on the design team.

You will be able to purchase some products (not sold in our store) at a 50% discount.

You will also receive $20.00 bonus bucks which can be redeemed for cash at the end of your term.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to e-mail Virginia at: InStyleStampsDT @ yahoo.com

We look forward to seeing your submissions! Best of luck

Back From CHA!

Hello Hello!

I had a good time at CHA. I attended the Consumer show one day and CHA Tradeshow the next and I'm pooped.

I have a lot to share and some pics so I'm sure you will like that.

This year I was able to convince my hubby to come with me so that I can get some ideas for my booth in Chicago later this year and he actually was happy to help. So he played camera man. :)

One thing I noticed about myself is that I am label loyal. Really I only cared about a few brands that I absolutely love and can't live without. And so once I made my loyal rounds to those booths, I did a little site-seeing with new stuff.

In order to be successful at CHA as a new exhibitor you only have a split second to gain the attention of people. That means your booth must draw people in. Sadly there were a lot of booths I didn't go to because to be honest they looked like a lot of run of the mill booths. And so if I didn't see anything that caught my eye enough to take a picture, I didn't spend much time looking, but did grab a catalog. I do realize that some people don't understand that attention grabbing concept and so I was willing to give them another chance by grabbing their catalog. Hopefully they can wow me with that. :)

My favorite this year was Provo Craft's Cricut Cake. Ok let me tell you first that I was on the Cricut Expressions Bandwagon for a while. I got an excellent deal (better than wholesale) at Walmart no less (when I shopped there) and once I was able to purchase wholesale I had about 30 cartridges. I didn't like everything I had to do to work the darn thing and so I ended up selling it. The person that bought it off me was so stoked about it. She sends me cards she makes every now and then. Too cool. And so when I walked by Provo Craft I immediately head for the Cuttlebug section to see what new folders they have come out with. But this year I was caught off guard.

Feast your eyes on this little bad boy- AWWWWWWW (sung by heavenly angels lol)



It's simply scrumptious. I've taken Wilton Cake classes and to be honest cake decorating is a lot of work. And especially working with gum paste and fondant. While I got all the way to the 3rd course (and I still didn't master those dang roses lol) I don't do cakes to that magnitude lol...nope not at all. I love fondant. Well I love the idea of fondant and so when I saw this machine...I was in heaven.

So I sat through the demo



And I even did the Cake and take (cupcake)



Since it's wrapped so cutely here is what I made:



The only difference with mine is that I chose chocolate frosting. They gave out these cute little chef's hat. But me and hat's don't get along sorry no pic lol.

So after I drooled over the machine that I will be getting shortly lol...I moved on to the cuttlebug. They have this cute new model (does the same thing as the old one except it has a butterfly design on it and comes in another color) I wasn't impressed. Why? Because they still haven't come out with a 12x12 model. Hello????? Even Big Shot did that and I absolutely love my big shot especially for sewing projects:



Cuttlebug, catch up with the times will ya? :)

Next I snapped some pics of my favorite brands:

Basic Grey



Bo Bunny - these 2 lines are already out but I love them mucho!!!

Persuasion


Love Bandit


Upsy Daisy



Scrumptious Velvet Paper the manufacturer escapes me at the moment




And how cute are these fabric flowers in some great colors?



Hero Arts envelopes and note sets. Oh man these colors are yummy!



And lastly, a new product by Quick Quotes A new canvas set....TOO CUTE!



And the Pièce de résistance? EK Success (insert clapping here) They have, I believe 78...yes 78 new punches. Oh my dear crafty buddy. These things are beautiful.



As I saw the demo and punched a few cards, let's just say if I hadn't been shoo'ed off my by husband I would have bought most if not all of the new designs. So cute, I was even thinking about carrying them.

I also got to see up close and personal the new Spellbinder dies. I was able to snap a few shots, but then had to show other images because some came out blurry...ahem blame my husband lol...new camera and all LOL.

Labels Eleven



Labels Thirteen



Labels Ten



Big Scalloped Square Large



I am going to be placing an order shortly! LOL...that's all I can say about that. :)

And here is me and Cyndi from the design team. She is soo precious. I wish I would have been able to do dinner or something with her, but hubby was sick and hungry and we took off after about 3 hours at the show. So Cyndi, perhaps Chicago? :)

I hate pictures but I figured what the heck.



And so my days of running the streets are over. Now back to the grind. Hope you have a wonderful week.

Winner for the Blog Post prize!

I was supposed to announce the winner on Saturday, sorry for the delay.

The winner is Country Mouse. Please email me at v villasenor@instyle stamps .com (no spaces) within 48 hours to claim your prize.

Thanks,
Virginia

Sneak Peek Tuesday!

Happy Tuesday!

On Thursday, ISS will be releasing 6 new digital images, just in time for V-DAY! 3 of them will be retro and the other 3 are of course anime.

Here are a preview of our retro's:

Wreath of Hearts:



And our Pyramid of Hearts:




And here is a project Piali create:



And to tease you a little more here is a sneak of one of the our anime images for tomorrow:



Can't wait till you stop by tomorrow. :)

New Item

New to our store...a little environment saving yes! is this cute little 100% recyclable tote/shopping bag. It is too cute right?



Mieko is the image and is available as a digital download. The bag will be given free with orders over $25.00 or you can send $2.50 (fluttersoftheheart @ yahoo.com remove the spaces)for the shipping and handling fee and I will mail you the bag. :)

I have a limited quantity available so get it while you can.

I'm Alive, I'm alive

Oh my has it really been that long since I've posted last? Wow, and I thought I was up on things. I apologize for my bad blogger habits. With 3 other blogs to keep going and 2 facebook accounts, it's a lot of writing lol.

Anywho I hope you had a Happy Holidays and a great start to the New Year! I stopped making New Year's resolutions a long time ago because honestly I never kept them and would feel awful for it. So now I just make a yearly goal list and check off those things I complete. At least this way I'm using the whole year to remind myself of the things I'd like to accomplish or change.

High on my list this year is doing my part for the environment and community. InStyle Stamps is going to be announcing a new part of the website in March and I am bursting at the seams to spill the beans. So before I do, I will hop onto other news...BLOG CANDY! YAY!

Before I opened up my own stamp company I use to be a demo for Stampin Up! And boy do I have a lot of stamps left. So I thought it would be fun to give away a few random stamps that were never used. I was a bad craft person when I first began crafting. I would take EVERYTHING out of the packaging so I can see it all and use it all (so I thought). All I did in the end was create a huge mess.

With that said, all of the stamps were mounted, however they were taken out of the containers so I have no idea what goes with what lol. That is why you will be getting random stamps. So every so often I will have photo's of them for blog candy. At least that way you will be able to see what is included.

So here are the stamps for this Blog Candy:



All you have to do is simply leave a comment in this post no later than 11:59 pm PST by January 15th. And I will choose the winner and announce on Saturday.

Good Luck!

I will be back next week to post some more news about our New Release on January 14th!

TFL,
Nenane